Scriptures

In our church, a lot of emphasis is placed on Joseph Smith and his translation of the Book of Mormon. This is the most important book ever written, no doubt about it.

In the past year or so I've been reading a lot of historical fiction that takes place around Henry VIII's time in England. (It all started with "Pillars of the Earth.") In the past month, I've read two books that discuss the translation of the Bible into English and how heretical it was at the time.

I am so grateful to those brave men and women who risked life and limb--literally--to translate the Bible. In these books, stories are told of people beaten, tortured, and even burned at the stake for disagreeing with the Catholic church. We are taught that the Lord prepared the earth for a long time before Joseph Smith questioned in the Sacred Grove. I am confident that without these brave men and women who lived hundreds of years before Joseph Smith, we wouldn't be where we are today. If Martin Luther hadn't written his 95 Theses, if John Wycliffe hadn't insisted on the translation of the Bible so that the "common man" could read, understand, and question for themselves, Joseph Smith wouldn't have found James 1:5. How pivotal that was to all Latter-Day Saints.

Reading these books also makes me realize how important it is to do our family history. To find these people who, I am sure, if they had the chance, would have embraced the Gospel. I'm grateful that there will be a time and a season for me to work on this. (It's not right now, but will be some day.)